These are great, healthy, snacks and the best part is that they are easy to make and they require about five minutes and just two easy ingredients! All you need is yogurt and blueberries (and a freezer!).
Ingredients:
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 6 oz (one container) yogurt, either French Vanilla or Lemon Burst flavored
First, rinse the blueberries and remove any and all stems from them. Place them in a medium sized bowl.
Next, spoon out the yogurt into the bowl of blueberries and stir until it is blended and mixed evenly.
With a cookie sheet, coat in parchment paper for easy cleanup and so the bark does not stick to the pan and spoon out approximately 1x1 in dollops of the blueberry and yogurt mixture and flatten with the spoon to create the bark-like appearance. Place each piece of bark about a half of an inch apart from the next.
Take your pan to the freezer and let the bark set and freeze for approximately 90 minutes. These snacks are meant to be enjoyed cool and frozen and will thaw if they are left out of the freezer! Store in an air-tight tupperware container with parchment paper separating layers of the bark.
Enjoy!
Kristin's Pesto
Who doesn't love pesto?! Pesto is one of my favorite flavors and almost every time I am out at a restaurant that serves it, I'm ordering it! I love it so much, I began whipping up my own pesto so I don't have to dine out to enjoy this savory sauce. Since the word pesto actually just means anything that is made by "pounding", there are many variations. This recipe is my simple, classic pesto that you can enjoy on pasta dishes, chicken, sandwiches, wraps, and more! If you don't have a food processor...get one! Pesto is what made me purchase a food processor, because it is the necessary machine for chopping up hard ingredients such as pine nuts...but trust me, you won't regret buying one because you can make so many amazing things using one! (I'll have to blog later about all the great things you can make in a food processor!)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups fresh basil
- 1/4 cup pine nuts (you can find these in the baking aisle!)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper, a generous pinch :)
Place the fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, clove garlic, and salt and pepper into the food processor. Give it a whirl and puree for about 30 seconds or until it appears creamy. Pop the top off and scrape the sides of the food processor, pushing the ingredients down into the mixture. Add the olive oil and give the food processor another whirl. Again, pop the top off, scraping down the sides, and this time adding the final ingredient--parmesan cheese. Give it a third and final whirl in the food processor until the pesto sauce is smooth and creamy.
Bon appetite!
Pizza Cupcakes:
These are my pizza cupcakes--I wouldn't exactly call them a savory cupcake, rather just everyday pizza ingredients baked into a cupcake pan and into a perfectly portioned meal! These miniature pizzas aren't mini when it comes to flavor--they pack a serious and delicious punch and the best part is that each one is only around 115 calories!
Ingredients:
- Pizza Dough (chose your favorite! it can be homemade dough or store bought. I was feeling lazy and went with a Pillsbury store bought dough)
- Approximately 1 Cup Pizza Sauce (again, chose your favorite--anything will work!)
- 1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Toppings-- chose your favorite toppings! Top it with ingredients you love!
For the toppings, I actually chose to incorporate some of them into the dough itself, since there is such a small and finite surface area on these little cupcake sized pizzas.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease or spray non-stick cooking spray like Pam in each slot in the cupcake/muffin pan.
Place your pizza dough into a medium sized bowl and add your desired toppings to the dough. I chose to use fresh basil, fresh baby spinach, and turkey pepperoni (yes there is such a thing and it is delicious and healthy!). Once you have mixed in and incorporated the desired toppings to the dough, roll out the dough and cut it into 12 equal squares. Place and therefore mold the squares of dough into the cupcake spots in the pan and press the dough down firmly to cover the entire space and so the dough comes up the sides of the cupcake slot.
Add about a tablespoon of the pizza sauce and about a tablespoon of mozzarella cheese to each (you can eyeball this). I also added a pinch of italian seasoning just to add a burst of flavor but it's totally optional! In addition, I added a couple extra turkey pepperonis to the top of each just for good measure :).
Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
- 2 cups fresh basil
- 1/4 cup pine nuts (you can find these in the baking aisle!)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper, a generous pinch :)
Place the fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, clove garlic, and salt and pepper into the food processor. Give it a whirl and puree for about 30 seconds or until it appears creamy. Pop the top off and scrape the sides of the food processor, pushing the ingredients down into the mixture. Add the olive oil and give the food processor another whirl. Again, pop the top off, scraping down the sides, and this time adding the final ingredient--parmesan cheese. Give it a third and final whirl in the food processor until the pesto sauce is smooth and creamy.
Pizza Cupcakes:
These are my pizza cupcakes--I wouldn't exactly call them a savory cupcake, rather just everyday pizza ingredients baked into a cupcake pan and into a perfectly portioned meal! These miniature pizzas aren't mini when it comes to flavor--they pack a serious and delicious punch and the best part is that each one is only around 115 calories!
Ingredients:
- Pizza Dough (chose your favorite! it can be homemade dough or store bought. I was feeling lazy and went with a Pillsbury store bought dough)
- Approximately 1 Cup Pizza Sauce (again, chose your favorite--anything will work!)
- 1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Toppings-- chose your favorite toppings! Top it with ingredients you love!
For the toppings, I actually chose to incorporate some of them into the dough itself, since there is such a small and finite surface area on these little cupcake sized pizzas.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease or spray non-stick cooking spray like Pam in each slot in the cupcake/muffin pan.
Place your pizza dough into a medium sized bowl and add your desired toppings to the dough. I chose to use fresh basil, fresh baby spinach, and turkey pepperoni (yes there is such a thing and it is delicious and healthy!). Once you have mixed in and incorporated the desired toppings to the dough, roll out the dough and cut it into 12 equal squares. Place and therefore mold the squares of dough into the cupcake spots in the pan and press the dough down firmly to cover the entire space and so the dough comes up the sides of the cupcake slot.
Add about a tablespoon of the pizza sauce and about a tablespoon of mozzarella cheese to each (you can eyeball this). I also added a pinch of italian seasoning just to add a burst of flavor but it's totally optional! In addition, I added a couple extra turkey pepperonis to the top of each just for good measure :).
Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
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